How Do the Philadelphia Eagles Fit into the NFL Playoff Picture after Week 12?

Be honest. You never guessed this article title could contain such a depressing write up just 10 weeks ago.

I was hoping that after the game against the Carolina Panthers, I could fill your head with delusional lines of hope. I could tell you about the three teams who have made the playoffs after starting 4-7 since the playoff format changed 12 years ago. I could insist a Giants collapse was possible.

I'm not sure what magical concoction exists that could give the Eagles a playoff berth. I am sure, however, that it is not going to happen. Winning out merely puts the Eagles at 8-8 on the season.

There are two problems with this. The first is that the Eagles need to win one game before they worry about winning out. The second is that 8-8 won't win this division.

The New York Giants are looking like a top team in the NFC. The Washington Redskins are thriving off the energy of the league's most exciting player in Robert Griffin III. I'm not going to say anything nice about the Cowboys.

If this were baseball, I could understand holding on to a glimmer of hope. Hot streaks come out of nowhere, and can just as easily be paired with a division leader's slide. Crazy things happen down the stretch of a baseball season. Some more bad news for Eagle's fans though...This isn't baseball.

There may not be a sport more than football that rewards good teams and punishes bad ones. Standings are usually pretty transparent. They don't hide much.

Take a quick look around the rest league this year. Ignoring records, are there any major surprises as season's end approaches? Not really, right? Maybe the Bears aren't the best team in the NFC North and maybe the Saints are better than third; but overall, good teams are where you would expect them to be and bad teams...well, look at the Eagles.

So where is all this going? The Eagles are a bad team. They look like a bad team, they act like a bad team and their standing in the division solidifies it all.

The Eagles don't have the magical 0.1 percent playoff chance that statistics say they do. They have a bad team, a lot of holes and a coaching nightmare. It doesn't take an advanced formula to tell you the playoff picture for this team is an ugly one.

I told you I couldn't lie. That was a lie. I told you there was no good news. That too was a lie.

The good news is that the Philadelphia Eagles' playoff picture is drawn on an Etch-A-Sketch. A couple quick shakes and one year later, we're ready for a new drawing. As the playoff picture fades into darkness, those shakes will come to life.